Residents clean up after dam collapse in Norfolk

[Spiel]

Residents clean up after dam collapse in Norfolk

 

Monday May 12, 2008

Ashley House / brantfordexpositor.ca

 

Residents and visitors of Normandale used to get joy out of walking along Potters Creek and up to Hatchery Pond, whether just observing nature or dropping a line into the water and coming out with a catch.

 

But the walk Sunday morning was sombre.

 

"This is a crime," said Gordon Loucks, who lives in Turkey Point. "It's such a shame."

 

Last Monday, a 60-foot section of berm, just west of the Ministry of Natural Resources dam at the Normandale hatchery, collapsed after water in the reservoir flowed over it.

 

The failure of the dam unleashed 15 feet of water that rushed from the 20-acre pond. With it came debris including trees, docks, culverts and lots of fish.

 

The pond now looks barren, with tree stumps and a trickle of water running through it. The creek, which winds its way throughout Normandale, is littered with uprooted trees, broken docks and large culverts.

 

A week after the berm collapse, residents are still trying to clean up the debris left by the flood waters.

 

Grant Russell and wife, Lena Medin-Russell, are putting together before and after photos of their picturesque heritage-designated home and property damaged by the dam collapse.

 

"The MNR told us they will accept full responsibility for the clean up," Russell said. "To what degree, I don't know yet."

 

Russell guesses the MNR will at least restore the creek and manage the erosion that has taken place.

 

"But it will never be restored to what it was," Medin-Russell said. "We spent 15 years building that backyard to what it was and we don't have another 15 years to do it again."

 

The creek was a place of relaxation for Medin-Russell. The family built stairs down to the creek, with bridges crossing in various spots.

 

"When I would get home from trips I would go out to the creek with my coffee, drop my feet in the water and just soak it all in," Medin-Russell said.

 

The family had also hammered in esthetically pleasing wooden logs to stop erosion and secure the growth of many large trees that lined the banks.

 

Now the trees have fallen as large chunks of embankment have broken away. The bridges are gone.

 

"This is a great loss to the community," Medin-Russell said, adding she's had visitors from all over the country stopping by to see the yard. The property has also been a part of heritage and garden tours that have attracted hundreds of visitors.

 

"People ooh and ahh, they just loved it," she said. "But it will never be the same."

 

The Russells say they will give the MNR an opportunity to come up with a plan of action.

 

"This wasn't an act of God," Medin-Russell said. "It was a dam that failed and somebody has to take responsibility for that. It's about maintaining the facilities we have."